Garment hanger



l-1h29, 1952 F. w. PooLEY 2,605,031.

t A GARMENT HANGER Filed sept. 7,1949

Snvehtor FREDERICK POOLEY Gttorneg Patented July 29, .1952

UNITED srArss PATENT OFFICE GARMENT HANGER Frederick W. Pooley, Philadelphia, Pa.

Application September 7, 1949, Serial No. 114,428

2 Claims. l

This invention relates to garment hangers and more particularly to garment hangers for supporting trousers, skirts, and the like.

It is the principal object of the present invention to provide a garment hanger for resiliently clamping garments such as trousers, skirts, and the like.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a, garmenty hanger of the character aforesaid which includes a relatively rigid bar and a resilient clamping element hingedly mounted on the bar for clamping a garment therebetween. Y

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a garment hanger with a horizontally movable resilient clamping element, one portion of which is adapted to be initially brought into clamping engagement with the garment, another portion of which is adapted to be brought into clamping engagement with the garment, and the clamping element locked with both clamping portions in engagement.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved garment hanger for trousers, skirts, and the like, having a resilient clamping element of spring metal with a resilient end lock.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a garment hanger having a rigid bar and a resilient clamping element adapted to be brought to clamping position with respect to the bar and with a garment interposed therebetween and which has an improved hinge construction for facilitating the initial clamping of the garment prior to locking.

Other objects and advantageous features of the invention will be apparent from the specification and claims.

The nature and characteristic features of the invention will be more readily understood from the following description, taken in connection It should, of course, be understood that the description and drawings herein are illustrative merely, and that various modifications and changes may be made in the structure disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. l, 2 and 3 of the drawings, the garment hanger in accordance with the present invention includes a straight bar I 9 which may be of rectangular cross section and is preferably of relatively rigid material such as wood. The central portion IIa of the inner face Il of the bar I0 is preferably relieved to accommodate the side seams of trousers to be supported thereby. Intermediate the ends of the bar I0 and extending upwardly from the upper face I2 thereof a supporting hook I3 of wire or the like is provided for suspending the garment hanger from a suitable support such as a rod or hook (not shown).

A resilient strap I4 is provided, of any suitable material such as spring steel. The strap I4 is connected at one end thereof to the bar I for pivotal movement and, as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, one terminal end I5 of the strap Iii is bent back onto itself to provide a portion for engagement, within a slot I6 in the bar ID, with a vertical pivot pin I'I carried in the bar Il). The slot I6 may be of the desired width to limit the swinging movement of the strap I4.

Intermediate its ends and between the central portion of the strap I4 and the terminal end I5 an inwardly convexed or bowed portion I8 is provided. Between the central portion of the strap I4 and the other terminal end I9, a second inwardly convexed or bowed portion 20 is provided. The terminal end I9 extends along the contiguous end of the bar I0 and is adapted for engagement in a slot 2l. The terminus 22 of the terminal end I9 is preferably formed into a single coil for locking engagement with the rear face 23 of the bar Il) at the end thereof.

The inner face 24 of the strap I0, at the portions thereof for engagement with a garment preferably has a facing strip 25 thereon of textile fabric or other material for frictional engagement with the garment, and spaced facing strips 26 are also preferably provided on the inner face II of the bar I0.

Referring now to Figs. 4 and 5, the garment hanger there shown is generally similar to that previously described but the strap I4 is provided 3 with a different character of hinged connection to the bar IU.

A U-shaped hinge piece 30 is secured to the bar Ill on one leg 3I thereof, the other leg 32 being secured to the terminal end 33 of the strap I4. The end portion 33 of the strap I4 in overlapping relation to the leg 32 provides a portion for manual engagement by the thumb of the user for effecting a Wider separation of the convexed portion I8, and of the strap I4, from the bar IB.

The mode of operation will noW be pointed out.

In use and when it is desired to hang a garment, the strap I4 is released by moving the terminus 22 to a position to free the terminal end I9 and permit movement of the strap I4 away from the bar I about its hinged connection to the bar I0.

The garment to be mounted is then brought to a position for clamping, with the cuffs, if trousers are to be supported, or the waist band, if a skirt is to be hung, in engagement with the facing strips 26 on the bar IIJ.

The strap I4 is then swung about its pivotal connection to bring the convex portion I8 into engagement with the garment for initial holding. The convex portion I8 will be slightlyflattened by this engagement. The strap I4 is then flexed to bring the convex portion 20 into engagement with the garment, and this portion will also be slightly flattened. The terminus 22 is moved or snapped to its position at the rear face 23 for holding the strap I4 in resiliently locked engagement.

The garment may be removed upon release of the terminus 22 and forward swinging of the strap I4.

The hinge connection illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 permits of a wider separation of the strap I4 from the bar Ill, the separation being effected by manual engagement of the thumb or lingers of the user With the end 33 of the strap I4 at the leg 32.

With both forms of garment hanger, after the convex portion I8 has been brought into engagement with the garment it may be held in engagement with the thumb while the clamping is completed.

I claim:

1. A garment hanger comprising a relatively rigid horizontal bar, a strap of at resilient material hingedly connected at one end to one end of said bar for horizontal pivotal movement and having a portion at the other end for resilient locking engagement at the other end of said bar, said strap having end portions disposed outwardly with respect to said bar and intermediate the end portions of said strap having a plurality of spaced convex portions extending towards said bar for resiliently gripping a garment between said strap and said bar, said spaced portions being resiliently movable outwardly from said bar.

2. A garment hanger as defined in claim 1 in which the hinged connection comprises a resilient U-shaped strap connected to said bar and said flat strap.

FREDERICK W. POOLEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,135,846 Roberti Nov. 8, 1938 2,212,524 Hui Aug. 2'7, 1940 2,394,879 Snoek' Feb. l2, 1946 

